American Witch: Third Year at Last!
by Hermione21
Summary: Sequel to American Witch, and Kara and them are in third year! And it's in third-person! No more journal! And so the story goes on...read at your own risk, 'cause it's probably as weird as the last one, and review: I'll be very happy. ^_^
1. Summer

American Witch: Part 2

A/N: I'm BAAAAAA-AAAAAAAACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hahahahahaha! I have come to terrorize you all! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!! Um…sorry about that.

Okay, I'll just recap the important stuff in the first part, since I haven't been writing about this for a while: Kara Ramirez first went to Hogwarts in her second year, made some friends, blah blah blah, found a prophecy, found a diary, turned 13and now she's going to turn fourteen near the end of this part. Oh God…and I'm not choosing to explain that last statement! Sorry!

Hopefully, I'll go slower here. And I know Kara probably acts younger than she is…but I like writing about weird characters.

I'm going to put this in third-person! Yay for the exit of the journal! Haha…I know that's what the readers are thinking…

And if by any chance, my supposed FRIENDS are still reading this story…FOR GOD'S SAKE, GET OFF!!!!!!!!! I DON'T WANT YOU TEASING ME ABOUT IT!!!!!!

But I'm not anywhere near that worried about people on the Internet, so the rest of you, go ahead and read! Even if it is the worst written crap on the Internet…… ^_^

Disclaimer: Okay, the HP characters belong to JK Rowling, if I put any in this story. Very good chance that I will, since I already have some in there…and the rest belong to me! Well, some of them are based on people I know…but they belong to me anyway! ^_^ They don't come from other people's writing! And I'll leave the rest for surprises! If there's something belonging to someone else that I happen to put in, I'll put it in the disclaimer in the next chapter.

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Chapter 1: Summer

Kara Ramirez sat on her bed one night, restless. Where was that owl? She'd even taken the screen off the window so it could fly through, and it still wasn't here! It should be coming any day now. It was August 1st. Just a month till school started. Perhaps it was slow and old. She hadn't seen it yet, since she'd gotten her letter from a house elf last year.

Last summer, a house elf named Binky had come up to her door and given her an invitation to come to Hogwarts, which was, in her opinion, the best school of magic in the world. She was so lucky to have gone there. She lived in the United States, and if she hadn't been late in showing her magic, she would've gone to a school there. Not Hogwarts.

Now she would get her invitation to start third year, in just a couple of days, but that damn owl! Where was it?

Just as she was thinking "damn owl" once again, a snowy white owl flew in and dropped an envelope onto her bed. 

"Well, gee, thanks," she said to it. "You were _so_ fast."

It didn't answer her, but it glared at her with its fierce yellow eye and flew up onto her dresser.

"Hey, watch it," Kara said. "You could break something and my mom would kill me, or perhaps you, and I'd have to explain to the people at Hogwarts why you were dead, or my friends would have to explain why _I _was dead."

The owl stared at her coldly, but flew off the dresser, settling onto the chair by her desk instead.

"Thank you," Kara said. Turning on the lamp, she picked up the envelope to open it, and the owl flew out the window.

"Good riddance," she called to it. Then she looked down at her envelope, and saw an address in sky-blue ink.

__

Miss K. Ramirez

The Penguin Bedroom

8499 Garden Drive

San Antonio, Texas

United States

It was here! It was finally here! She ripped the envelope open excitedly, and a letter fell onto her lap.

__

Dear Miss Ramirez,

Please note that the new school year will begin on September the first. The Hogwarts Express will leave from King's Cross Station, Platfrom Nine and Three-Quarters, at 11 AM.

Third years are permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade on certain weekends. Please give the enclosed permission form to your parent or guardian to sign.

A list of books for next year is enclosed.

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Kara pulled out the permission form for Hogsmeade excitedly. Cool! Wasn't that a wizarding village, all magic? Oh, it would be so great to go there.

Kara thought that she might have a little trouble convincing her mom to let her go, and so she turned off the lamp, and went to sleep with a satisfied smile. Another year at Hogwarts.

***

The next morning, Kara woke up with the sun shining on her face. Oh God. She'd left the window open. She lay in her bed for a few minutes, then got up slowly and closed the window.

With a bang, she remembered that she was going to try to convince her mom to sign the form today. She descended the staircase slowly, laying a hand on the banister to keep herself upright. She was always kind of clumsy in the morning.

Her mom was already in her office, working away. She wouldn't be happy about the interruption; Kara knew that. But oh well. She had to ask sometime.

"Um, Mom?" she said. 

Her mother looked up with a tired look on her face.

The dog, Storm, jumped up and put its paws on her. They'd had the dog for a while. It was always near her mother. 

"Hi, Storm!" Kara said sweetly, the dog's paws down gently. Storm was a nice-looking dog, with her silvery-gray fur. Total strangers often commented on it when her mother and the dog were out on walks. Kara petted her a couple more times, then remembered her purpose. 

"Mom, I got my letter from Hogwarts yesterday night."

"What?" her mother said.

"Hogwarts. H-O-G-W-A-R-T-S. And nothing to do with hogs or warts."

"Oh. That school with those…wizards and witches…"

"Yes. That one." Kara said sweetly. "Okay, my point is, there was this permission form. See, I'm in third year, and third years are allowed to go to Hogsmeade, which is this wizarding village. Could you please sign the permission form?"

"Well…I'm not sure…"

"Mom!" Kara cried, thinking she might not be able to go.

"Will there be adult supervision?"

"Of course!" Kara wasn't actually quite sure if there was, but it wouldn't hurt for her mother to think that. "I think a professor or something has to lead the way to the village. And it's not very far from Hogwarts anyway."

"Well…" her mother said, weakening.

"Please, please, please!"

"Okay…fine, I'll sign it in a little while. I have to work right now…"

"Thanks, Mom," Kara said brightly. "You're the best mother in the world!" 

Then she skipped out to get her breakfast.

***

After she finished her breakfast, she ran upstairs to get the form, barely pausing for breath as she ran downstairs again.

"Okay, here Mom. Here's the form," Kara said as she ran into the office. Storm jumped on her again.

"Okay okay, down, Storm," Kara said, petting the dog as she handed the form to her mother. "Just sign right there." She pointed to a place on the form.

"Right," her mother said, looking up from her work. Kara handed her a pen. Her mother signed, and Kara hugged her. 

"Gracias, Mamá," said Kara, thanking her in Spanish, then ran out of the room in excitement.

"You forgot the form, Kara!" her mother called.

Kara stopped in her tracks, blushed, although there was no one to see her blush, and went to retrieve the form. 

***

The next day, Amanda came over to Kara's house, and the two sat on Kara's bed, planning for Hogwarts.

"So, you think we should tell anybody about the kitchens, Kara?" Amanda asked, grinning. Amanda had found the kitchens at Hogwarts last year, and shown Kara where they were.

"Hell, yeah!" Kara said, also grinning. "How about…Elena?"

"That'll work."

Then, Kara got serious. "And…what do you think we should do about…you know, Jenny Chapman?"

"Jenny who?"

Kara nearly screamed in exasperation. "Jenny Chapman! I can't believe you! You've forgotten in a few weeks! She's that Seer with the diary!"

"I was just kidding…" Amanda said, grinning. "And that's a weird name. Sounds like you're about to say 'chapstick'. Well, I don't know…Burn her diary?"

"No, we will not burn her diary, because you know that prophecy's in it!"

"Oh yeah," Amanda muttered. "That thing…Well, I still don't know. I guess, just keep our eyes open and investigate whoever looks like they might be one of those people."

"Well, yeah, I know _that_," Kara complained, "but I feel so _useless_, not doing anything."

"Get over it," Amanda said, a small smile on her face.

And Kara shut up.

After a minute of silence, Kara said quietly, "We can talk about it all more when we see Elena at Hogwarts, I guess."

"Yeah," Amanda said uncomfortably.

"Well, anyway…You wanna go watch a movie or something?" Kara said, trying to change the subject.

"Um…okay!" They ran down the stairs, talking about which movie to watch.

***

A week later, Kara looked over at the house across the street while typing something on the computer. She jumped in the chair a second later and stared. Was that…green smoke, coming out of the chimney?

Kara saved her typing hurriedly and ran lightly across the street to the neighbor's house. She rang the doorbell, wringing her hands nervously.

There was a pause, and she heard someone say something. Then, the door opened, and a woman, the mother of the girl who lived there, looked at her.

Kara smiled faintly. Her mouth was dry. She hadn't talked to these people in a while. "Uh…well…was it just me, or did I see green smoke coming out of your chimney…?"

"Hm?" Marie's mother stared at her. Kara saw some emotion flash across her face. Was it…fear? Confusion? Panic? Kara was confused. "Well, no, I…guess it was just you…" Marie's mother said.

Kara suddenly saw something behind her back. A…wand? A wand? She had a wand! "Is that a wand?" she said in a hesitant voice. "Because…"

"Oh, what?" Kara definitely saw the panic on her face this time. "Oh, this?" she laughed, taking it out from behind her back. "It's just…"

But whatever the woman was going to say, Kara knew it was a real wand. It didn't look fake like the kind of wands that magicians tapped on their hats just before they pulled a rabbit out…

"I'm a witch!" Kara burst out. Her eyes suddenly got a little bigger. Had she just interrupted somebody she'd barely ever talked to? And with that statement?

Marie's mother stopped, confused. Then, she relaxed. "Oh, you are? That scared me for a minute! In that case, the green smoke was just some Floo Powder."

"Where are you going?"

"Wizard bank. I need some money."

"Oh. Okay."

"What school of witchcraft do you go to, Kara?"

"Hogwarts."

"Oh, really?" The woman peered at her. "Why?"

"I was late showing any signs of magic, and nobody suspected it of me. I'm Muggle-born…"

"Who's Muggle-born?" Marie showed up at the door. She was a girl of about 9 or 10 years of age with long and curly dark brown hair. "…You?"

"Yes…" Kara said uncomfortably. She used to be okay friends with Marie, when she was younger, but they'd had some fight. Perhaps Marie didn't remember. Kara hardly remembered herself. But then, of course, Kara had the worst memory in the world. "I'm a witch. I was just talking about Hogwarts…"

Marie looked interested. "Do you go to Hogwarts?"

"Yeah…It's fun. When are you going to start learning spells and stuff?"

"Um…" Marie paused. "When I turn eleven. I'm going into fifth grade this year."

"So you're going in a year. Have fun."

"Thanks," Marie said shyly.

"Well, I'd better be leaving now before my mom starts wondering where I am…" Kara said slowly. "Bye!" She walked back across the street.

When she got home, she smiled, leaning against the door. There were other wizards and witches, or at least witches, in the area. In fact, they were right across the street.

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You like? No? Of course, that's obvious! And no one will read this anyway. If you DO read it, please compliment me with a review…Gracias. Arigato. Grazi. Thank you.

Right. Doesn't it suck? Anyway, thanks to anybody who dared to read such crap (I'm sorry it's so dumb, it just screams to be written, as I've said before), and bye 'till the next chapter!

-Hermione2


	2. School Shopping

American Witch

A/N: Hola, peoples! I know I'm writing for the benefit of pretty much no one, but at least I'm getting more persistent! And I'm definitely not trying a romance short story again! Good reception…but seriously, you feel uncomfortable writing about romance unless you've actually experienced any…or at least that's my case.

And I just realized that I never had them choose their extra classes! You know, Divination and that. So…let's just say that did that, but it wasn't mentioned, and I'll just send them to some random classes…Hehe…

This chapter is dedicated to Ginny Ha-Ha for…reviewing…*sniff* I'm so grateful! Well, actually, no, I'd better not dedicate it to you, since no one wants _this_ weird story floating around their dedicated things! =)

Disclaimer: In the last chapter, the letter from Hogwarts was JK's. I couldn't write such a formal one! And in this chapter, of course, JK's belongings: Diagon Alley and the Leaky Cauldron. Everything except my little characters and Amanda's house (which is also mine), practically…And again, I'm leaving the rest for surprises.

Oh, and please review! You can even not read if you want! =D

So, Chapter 2 is here (*slaps Chapter 2* Shame on you! You were late! ^_^) and I am going to shut up now! 

~Hermione2

^_^

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Chapter 2: School Shopping

About a week after she had the little interaction scene with the family across the street, it was time to go to Diagon Alley. Kara and Amanda had decided to go together again, and this time they were pretty much going by themselves. Mrs. Bustamente was going with them, but Amanda said that she would probably just tell them they could go wherever they wanted while she looked at the shops herself. Largely because of that, Kara thought Mrs. Bustamente was the best mother a kid could have.

Her mom dropped her off at Amanda's house, and she knocked on the door, fiddling with the shoulder strap of a bag hanging at her side. It contained some wizard money she had brought along for the shopping, and she planned to also carry her new books in it. 

"Hello, Kari!" Mrs. Bustamente beamed as she opened the door. She had a habit of getting Kara's name wrong. Kara didn't care much, but she sometimes thought it did get annoying after a while.

"It's _Kara_, Mom," Amanda said in an exasperated voice as she came to the door. "Hi, Kara! We're going by Floo Powder this year."

"Oh…" Kara said uneasily. "Right." She didn't much like that idea. The idea of Floo Powder had always made her feel a little nervous. Just stepping into a fire…it didn't feel right.

Mrs. Bustamente led them to the fireplace in the living room, then took some Floo Powder out of a vase on the mantel and threw it on the fire. The fire turned green and roared up. Kara trembled a little before she could stop herself.

"Do you want to go first, Kari? We're going to the Leaky Cauldron, so just yell that out." Mrs. Bustamente asked, apparently not noticing Kara's fear.

"_Kara,_ Mom!"

Kara thought for a second. Well, it hadn't been that bad when she'd done it last year… "Okay." She took a deep breath and stepped up to the fire. It seemed to roar higher than ever for a second. She swallowed, took another deep breath, and stepped in.

As she opened her mouth, ashes flew past, but she luckily didn't get much in her mouth. "The Lea…Leaky C…C…Cauldron!" She yelled, wishing she wasn't so nervous. Then, she felt herself whirling around, and tried to keep her arms from bumping into the fireplace. Nevertheless, she banged a shoulder on the side of the fireplace, and let out a small whimper of pain. That was probably going to be bruised for a while.

When she finally stopped, she threw her hands out to steady herself on the sides of the fireplace. Then, she looked around. Where was she? This wasn't the Leaky Cauldron. It wasn't even Diagon Alley.

She stepped out of the fireplace and looked around. There was a table, and a girl was sitting at it. There wasn't much light; there were only a couple of torches on the walls. This place looked creepy.

"Sit down," the girl at the table said. "I've been expecting you."

Kara stared uncertainly at the girl. She had long wavy red hair and green eyes. Now where had she seen that face before…? She knew they'd never met in her memory.

Still feeling confused, she sat down at a chair across from the girl and said, "What is this place? And who are you?"

"I'll answer the questions in their respective order. This is part of the world of the dead. And you know me as Jenny Chapman."

So that was it! She must have recognized her face from the photo album. That's where she'd seen her face before. Then, she processed the rest of the statement. "The world of the dead…?" Kara gaped, then looked around quickly. She'd never expected to get here before she died…She shuddered. "But…you…Jenny Chapman…So you're dead?"

"Yes, of course. I wouldn't be here otherwise. I obtained permission to summon you here for a little private chat."

"What did you want to talk to _me_ for?"

"Well, I know you've found my things in that attic…When I died in my fifth year--"

"You died in your fifth year at Hogwarts? I'm sorry. How did that happen?"

"I…er…fell off that small cliff by the lake. I was unprepared to swim, and the impact weakened me anyway…so I drowned."

"I'm sorry. I thought, based on your things that we found, that you would have had a great future ahead of you, being a Seer and all."

"No. I couldn't have. It was Fate. If I had managed to escape dying, I would have had no purpose in life. But I didn't summon you to talk about my death, so…let's get on with it. As I was saying, when I died in my fifth year, my cousin, Lily--she happened to be identical to me as well, for a random fact--put all my things up in the attic. I knew that it was Fated that someone would come along and find them one day, and it would help them with something else, and you happened to be the one. So, I thought I would give you a small amount of advice for your task."

"Right. Before you give that to me, may I ask a question?" Kara had an interested expression.

"Sure."

"Your cousin, Lily…did her last name happen to be Evans?"

"Why, yes. Why do you ask?"

"Oh…well, I've heard of her." _So, _Kara thought, _I'm actually talking to a relative of Harry Potter's mother! Interesting…_

"Now that you've finished with your questions, do you want me to give you advice or not?" Jenny asked, somewhat impatiently.

"Oh, sorry. I know; I really have been asking too many questions. Bring on the advice!" Kara listened intently. She didn't want to miss this.

"Right…If you want to carry out your fate for this year, then you must look at all four houses, every person. Even people you don't particularly relish associating with. These people could be anywhere. Of course, if you want to go for a faster method…"

Kara listened especially intently.

"…then you should listen to any strange things you hear. That's often helpful. If you hear anything that sounds like the kind of person you need, then you investigate it. Track the person down and then try to figure out if the rumors are true….And that's my advice."

"Oh, so helpful," Kara said in annoyance. "That's pretty much what I was going to do anyway."

"Well, I said it was a small amount of advice…And if you were already thinking of those things, you're a bit more intelligent than I thought. Congratulations."

"Oh, yes, you thought I was dumb, even though I'm in Ravenclaw. Thanks!" Kara said in a sarcastic tone. "So, now that you've talked to me, could I perhaps be on my way to the Leaky Cauldron?"

"Certainly. Just get back in the fireplace and I'll get you there without any Floo Powder."

"Hey! Dead people have cool powers…" Kara muttered, stepping into the fireplace. She was relieved that she didn't have to use Floo Powder. As soon as she got herself in, everything whirled around once, and she fell out of the fireplace of the Leaky Cauldron. 

"Hi, Kara. What took you so long?" Amanda's voice questioned. Kara looked up from the floor. 

"Um…I don't know," she said, deciding that she'd better tell Amanda about Jenny Chapman when they weren't with her mom. Speaking of it, that girl was even more annoying than she'd thought. It was like she'd thought she was stupid…honestly…

"Well, we've been waiting for you for nearly 3 minutes! I timed it! Maybe our fireplace is malfunctioning…"  
"Yeah, that might be it…" Kara said, relieved that Amanda had supplied an excuse, and getting up from where she'd fallen on the floor. Then, brushing the off the soot from when she left Sparrow's Perch, Kara said, "Well, I've already got my money in my bag…So, I'll be at Florean Fortescue's getting some ice cream. You can go get some money from Gringotts."

"Good idea," Amanda said. "Maybe I'll get some ice cream…" She looked hopefully at her mother.

"I don't mind, Amanda" Mrs. Bustamente said.

"Yay!" Amanda cheered. Then, they left the Leaky Cauldron, opened up the wall in the back, and walked through to Diagon Alley.

Kara waved as Amanda and her mother went up the steps of Gringotts, then headed toward the ice cream parlor. Going in, she waited in the line for a minute, ordered a sundae with a whole bunch of toppings on it (because she was a greedy little girl…haha…), and carried it outside, sitting down and starting to eat.

When she was about halfway done, Amanda got there and said, "Well, my mom has turned us loose. Took some money for herself and said she'd meet us by Gringotts."

"Yes! Free at last!" Kara said in a kind of whisper-yell, so that she wouldn't get stares by randomly yelling, and watched as Amanda went inside the ice cream parlor and came back out a minute later. Kara got up, and they walked down Diagon Alley, eating their ice cream.

"Hey…you know how I took a while going by Floo Powder?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, actually, this is what happened…" And she filled Amanda in on her meeting with Jenny Chapman.

"So she fell off a cliff and drowned? How clumsy do you have to be? And she was Lily Evans' cousin?"

"Yep. And give her a break. She was probably distracted somehow when she fell off that cliff…"

"Ha. As if."

"Her advice wasn't very informative, but I guess we can try to follow it."

"Aah! Informative…why do you have a big vocabulary?"

Kara sighed.

****

First, they decided to get the boring thing over with, and went to the apothecary first, to get some more potion ingredients. The beetle eyes freaked Amanda out, and Kara enjoyed picking them up, just to hear Amanda's disgusted comments. She actually had some of them bought and paid for, for exactly the same reason. 

"Why do you need _those?_" Amanda asked. "Think about it. Those are _eyes_."

Kara just laughed.

****

Next, they went to Flourish and Blotts. As they stepped inside, Kara frowned suddenly. 

"Whadda we need again?" She emptied out her pockets, and a few coins, some string, and a pack of gum fell on the floor, along with a folded piece of paper. "Oh, there's the list!" She picked up the folded piece of paper, which was the list, then put the coins in her bag ("Wouldn't want my mom to get those from the wash," she muttered), and started knotting up the string while chewing some gum.

"Uh…interesting, Kara."

"Thank you!" Kara said, bowing low.

Amanda laughed, while Kara looked at the list. "So…okay, we need the Grade 3 Standard Book of Spells, um…and our books for our new classes…Divination and Ancient Runes for me, and…" She took a look at Amanda's list. "Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures for you. Aw, 'Manda…you're not taking Divination with me?" She put on ridiculous puppy-dog eyes and looked at Amanda.

"Oh, God…" Amanda laughed. "Quit the puppy-dog eyes! Anyway, I'd rather avoid Divination, just in case that Trelawney is still teaching."

"Oh, come on, she sounded old in those books! She'd have to be immortal or something!"

"Maybe she's younger than she looks," Amanda said, in a I'm-trying-to-creep-you-out voice.

"Right. Anyway, if she is, I can act like a total fraud too and become the teacher's pet, so that I don't get homework!" Kara said brightly.

"You need to get help, Kara…"

"I'll look into that. I hear there's a couple empty spots at St. Mungo's…" Kara shrugged and started looking for her books. "Maybe you can fill the other one! Then we can be…mental hospital-mates!"

"Oh, shut up…" Amanda muttered, going to find her books as well.

****

About ten minutes later, they were out of Flourish and Blotts, and Kara had purchased _Unfogging the Future_ and _The Ultimate Runes Textbook, _both of which were now in her bag. _The Ultimate Runes Textbook_ would probably be The Ultimate Boringness. Anything with the word "Textbook" in the title was sure to be boring. Kara hoped the teacher wouldn't be boring too.

Next, they went over to Madam Malkin's. Both Kara and Amanda had shot up a few inches over last year, being the same height, and they needed to get longer robes. Madam Malkin greeted them warmly when they got there. "Needing new robes, dears? Let me measure you both and I'll point you in the right direction."

__

Ugh, Kara thought. _Dears? I am not a dear. I'd rather be called a…uh…hippogriff._ However, she did let Madam Malkin measure her for robes, and went over to the right section and got some okay ones…black, of course. Kara wondered if people wanted the school to look like a funeral or something.

After Madam Malkin's, they were done. They found Amanda's mom wandering down the alley, told her they were ready, and then all three went back to the Leaky Cauldron. When Kara got in the fireplace this time, she concentrated hard on saying the words correctly.

"Sparrow's Perch!" And she whirled around, and around, and around, and around…and I think you get the point. And bang, she crashed down in the fireplace at Amanda's house.

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A/N: Yay! I'm done! AND I AM _OUT OF SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!! _WOO-HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BRING ON SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hehe, sorry about that…I'm just REALLY HAPPY!!!!! 

And as I said in my bio, since it's summer, and I have absolutely NOTHING to do (Yes! FREEEEEEEEDOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), I'll probably be able to get more writing done. Any people reading this can probably expect faster posting, unless I decide to be a lazy bum, which is my usual occupation in summer, or I get writer's block. But I'll try not to do either…

And actually, there's not any purpose for Jenny being Lily's cousin, at least at the moment. If I get inspiration, there will be. But right now, I just feel like it! 

Review! *puppy dog eyes*

~Hermione2

^_^


	3. The Welcoming Feast

American Witch: Third Year at Last!

A/N: I decided to add the "Third Year at Last!" part this time, since I'd been forgetting…

Um…let's see…anything else to say here?

Well, if anybody reviewed, which I find extremely doubtful…THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

You know, I've been writing for a year now…Oh…scary-scary…

And I still haven't come up with any good fics…Such a pathetic person. Yep. That's me.

Disclaimer: I've found a way to shorten this! Yay! J.K Rowling owns all recognizable things, and I own all unrecognizable things. There. Done.

-Hermione2

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Chapter 3: The Welcoming Feast

After about two more weeks, it was September 1st. When Kara woke up, she grinned happily. She was going back to Hogwarts today! 

She got out of bed, dressed, and then went down to have some breakfast as fast as she could. Her mother had rebelled and not gotten up, so her dad was the only one up. He made some pancakes for her, which was not a normal occurrence. Kara guessed he was trying to be nice on her last day at home. She savored them as long as she could.

Eventually, she was ready to go. She double-checked all her things, made sure Lilac (her owl) was safely in her cage, and finally started dragging her trunk down the stairs. It was heavy…

2 lightyears later (or so it seemed with a trunk that heavy), Kara got outside and left her dad with the trunk, while she raced upstairs to get Lilac. When she got to her room, she took one last look around, wishing for a second that she didn't have to leave, and grabbed Lilac's cage. Her desire to go back to Hogwarts had overruled her minor homesickness. Then, she ran downstairs, and Lilac hooted irritably as her cage bounced up and down in Kara's hands.

Getting back outside, Kara ran over to the curb, where she'd set her trunk, and set Lilac down beside it. Then, she stuck out her hand and the Knight Bus appeared. Her dad helped her heave the trunk onto the bus, and then Kara carried Lilac in. 

"How much for going to London?" she asked the driver. 

"From here?" he asked uncertainly.

Kara nodded impatiently, getting worried that the price would be high.

"Er…that'll be a Galleon and a Sickle."

Kara stared with wide eyes for a second, then rummaged around in her trunk. "Wait a second…" Wow. That was a lot for a bus. Of course, they did have to go across an ocean. That counted toward the cost, probably. 

She finally found a Galleon, and she'd had a few Sickles in her pocket. Kara paid the requested money, and then sat down on one of the beds along the sides of the bus.

BANG, and they were going along a different road.

"Oh, Miss Floyr! We're in Oklahoma!" the driver yelled, and a witch left the bus, clutching her bags and looking a little glad to leave.

BANG!! Virginia. That was a big jump…

"Right. Your turn now," the driver muttered to Kara. And…**BANG!**

"And we're in England!" the driver announced. Kara felt like she'd left a part of herself back in the United States and it was still catching up.

"What part of London?"

"King's Cross."

"Righty, then."

BANG! A little bit after that, Kara had gotten off the bus and was taking her things to Platform 9 and 3/4. 

Kara and her father reached the barrier. "Bye Dad! See you at Christmas!" Kara waved, then ran forward to the barrier and disappeared through.

And there was the Hogwarts Express. The train she'd been wishing to see all summer. Kara immediately got a delighted expression on her face, then heaved her trunk onto the train with a bit of difficulty. Going back onto the platform, she looked around for one of her friends. 

From behind her, she heard someone call her name, and spun around. Elena was standing a short distance away. "Hi," Kara called, fighting her way through the crowd. 

She reached Elena, and said, "How was your summer? It must have been better than mine. I was about to die from boredom!"

"Hi, Kara!" Elena said happily. "I couldn't wait to go back to Hogwarts this summer. All I did was go to the beach." Elena lived in California, right on the coast.

"Better than me! That might seem really boring to you, but I don't go to the beach unless I'm on vacation!"

"Kara, Elena!" 

We turned around. "The life of the party has come to the platform," Kara said in an announcer voice.

"Hi, 'Manda!" Elena greeted Amanda with as much enthusiasm as with Kara.

"You know…" Kara said, looking at her watch, "The train's about to go. We should find some seats."

"Yeah," Amanda agreed. "But you have to help me get my trunk on…."

"How much do I get paid?" Kara asked eagerly. Elena laughed.

After they had gotten on the train, and Amanda had grudgingly paid Kara 3 Knuts ("3 Knuts?!? What am I, to deserve so little? Chopped liver???"), they started looking for seats, and found some at the very end of the train.

Sitting down, Kara said, "Have any of you seen Kira and them yet?"

"No," Amanda and Elena said at the same time.

"Right. Neither have I. Do you think there'll be anything to do on this train besides eat?"

"Probably not."

"We'd better kidnap the lady with the food, then…"

The train started moving, and they looked idly out the window as it left the platform.

A few seconds later, their compartment door slid open, and a pale-faced girl none of them recognized stuck her head in slowly. "Eh…mind if I sit in here? Only seats left."

"Sure," Amanda replied, almost at once.

The girl, who was short and had curly blond hair and blue eyes, walked in.

"What year are you in?" Kara asked. "I don't think I've seen you around."

"Third year Gryffindor. Arena Warren," the girl said, holding out a hand. For a Gryffindor, she seemed to be pretty quiet.

"Oh! Me and Elena here," Kara said, pointing at Elena, "are in Ravenclaw. 'Manda's in Hufflepuff. We're all in third year too."

"Wait…you're the ones who were new last year, right?" 

"Yep," Kara said, feeling a bit impatient. Was that all people cared about? She didn't like thinking about the fact that even Hogwarts had been late in noticing that she had any magic. It made her feel stupid, somehow. Like she couldn't even make strange things happen and be on time about it.

"Oh," Arena said. "I was wondering whether I was ever going to meet any of you, since we're all the same age. Maybe we'll have classes together this year."

"Maybe," Kara said shortly, still feeling resentful that being one of "the new ones" was the only thing that identified her.

Arena seemed to notice Kara's tone, and glanced at her in confusion. Kara suddenly looked at it from Arena's side. The girl probably didn't even know why she was mad. Without knowing it, the look in her eyes softened just a tiny bit.

"Well," Arena said. "I think the introductions are pretty much taken care of, so I'll just find a seat." She didn't have to look long, since they were the only ones in the compartment, so she sat down almost immediately.

Kara thought she should probably make up for being rude, so she said, hesitantly smiling, a few seconds later, "So…What new classes are you taking this year?"

Arena looked up, startled. She probably hadn't expected Kara to talk to her. "Er…Divination and Muggle Studies."

"Oh. I'm taking Divination too! Wonder if we'll be in the same class…So, you're not Muggle-born?"

"No…."

"Oh. I am. We're kind of the wizard blood range here," Kara laughed. "I'm Muggle-born…"

"I'm half-blood," Amanda interrupted, "and Elena's pure-blood. Honestly, Kara, you've remarked on that so many times, I can do it by heart."

"Of course, it's not that hard to remember," Elena said, "but you _do _say it a lot. How about you leave, Arena, before she bores you to death?" Elena suggested, letting out a small laugh.

Kara scowled, and said, jokingly, "Oh, come on, I wanted to bore her to death…Why don't you ever let me kill people from boredom?"

Arena was just watching them with a slightly wary look on her face.   
"R--Right…."

***

By the end of the train ride, Arena was acquainted with them, but cautious. She seemed to think that they were a tiny bit insane. Well, looks can be deceiving…but maybe they were, a tiny bit…

When they got out of the train, it was dark outside, and they saw a lantern bobbing above the heads of the crowd. "Firs' years over 'ere! Over here, firs' years!" 

"I'd bet my cloak…and that's valuable at the moment, 'cause it's cold," Kara added, "that that's Rubeus Hagrid, not Bill Weasley! I wonder why he wasn't here last year."

"I heard Hagrid was off doing things for Dumbledore…I think Bill Weasley was substituing for Hagrid, doing his jobs around Hogwarts," Elena said, thinking. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that was it."

"Oh." 

***

As they got out of the coach that had transported the three of them to Hogwarts, Kara looked up. The castle rose high above them. She felt a surge of excitement to be there again, and almost ran up the front steps.

Elena was right next to her. "_Alohomora!_" She tapped the lock on the double doors. 

"**IT'S OPEN, YOU STUPID *censored*!"**

Elena said sweetly to the doors, "Why, thank you for telling me. _Accio!_" A bag appeared in her hand, and she opened it, dumping termites on the doors.

****

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Enjoy your termites!" Smiling, she opened the door and went through.

"Greenweld, 5 points off Ravenclaw for vandalism!" It was Professor Bradley, a rather disagreeable woman who was the teacher for History of Magic.

"But Professor Bradley, shouldn't the doors get 5 points off for insulting me?" Elena asked with an innocent face.

"Whatever. Doors, 5 points off for--" Bradley stopped and reddened as she realized she was taking points off the doors, which weren't in any real house anyway.

"GREENWELD!!!!"

"Yes, Professor Brad?"

"DON'T CALL ME BRAD!!!!! IT'S BRADLEY!!!"

"Okay…" Professor Bradley sighed with relief. "…Professor Brad."

__

"**IT'S BRADLEY!!!!!!**"

"Right. Bye!" Elena said, going toward the Great Hall, with her long black hair fluttering behind her. Clearly, she'd been doing some planning over the summer.

Kara and Amanda went past Professor Bradley into the Great Hall. Amanda went to sit at the Hufflepuff table.

Sitting at the Ravenclaw table, Kara said, "Isn't it a bit early to be doing that, 'Lena? Ravenclaw's got -5 points!"

"Oh, well. You can always earn them back in classes. You're a genius, after all…"

A couple seconds later, practically every student in Hogwarts came into the Great Hall and sat at their tables.

"Hi Kira, Andrea, Stephanie…" Kara said, as the three girls mentioned sat down across from them.

"Hi," Kira said. "D'you think they allow swimming in the lake here?"

"Um…why?"

"She's gotten obsessed with swimming over break," said Andrea, a girl with black hair that was nearly always in a ponytail. "Stephanie has too. Poor me!"

"I'm sorry," Kara said sympathetically. It was a habit, whenever anyone talked about something happening that was not to their advantage. It didn't matter whether it was her fault or not.

Elena said to Kira, "Well, no idea if they allow swimming…But do you really want to? There's the giant squid, and the grindylows, and other things…"

"Right," Kira said, sighing. "Maybe I should just settle for Quidditch…"

"Yes," Andrea said. "_Please_ just settle for Quidditch."

Before Kira could answer, the first years came in, and Professor Bradley placed the Sorting Hat on a stool.

"Let's just hope it was able to think of a song this year," Kara whispered.

Elena laughed softly.

The hat sang, 

__

Oh, you may not think I'm pretty

But don't judge on what you see--

"You sang that one in 1991!" someone yelled.

"Well, at least it's a song…" the Sorting Hat grumbled. And it went on to finish the song.

__

I'll eat myself if you can find a smarter hat than me!

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat and I can cap them all!

There's nothing hidden in your head the Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you where you ought to be.

You might belong in Hufflepuff

Where dwell the just and loyal.

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true 

And unafraid of toil.

You might belong in Gryffindor

Where dwell the brave at heart.

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart.

Or perhaps in Ravenclaw 

If you've a ready mind.

Where those of wit and learning

Will always find their kind.

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends. 

Those cunning folk use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on, don't be afraid

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!

(A/N: And that is J.K. Rowling's, quite obviously. Don't sue me. Anyway, I'm broke. You wouldn't get much.)

The Hall, er…_didn't_ burst into applause after the Sorting Hat finished.

Professor Bradley cleared her throat: "Ndersonyay, Atenay." She looked horrified. "Iay myay peakingsay niay Igpay Atinlay! HOHAY IDDAY HISTAY?!?!?!? ETENTIONDAY!!!!!!!"

A teacher stepped up. "Anyone want a translation?" Most of the hall nodded. "Right. She said, 'Anderson, Nate.' That was the first student to be Sorted, by the way… Then she said, 'I am speaking Pig Latin! WHO DID THIS?!?!?!? DETENTION!!!!!!!' "

Most of the hall laughed hysterically. 

Elena was just grinning.

"Did _you_ do that?" Kara asked, while gasping with laughter. 

Elena said, "Now why would I do that?" But she was grinning while she said it.

"Good one!" Kara yelled, then continued laughing.

Professor Bradley was looking very bad-tempered, and started going around the tables, shrieking, "ETENTIONDAY!!!!!! (DETENTION!!!!)" at random students. This just made the students laugh even harder, because she was still speaking in Pig Latin, and purple bubbles had begun to blossom out of her mouth with every word she spoke. Elena was looking very puzzled, but had begun laughing hard.

"Did you do the bubbles too?" Kara asked incredulously.

"No…Can't think who did. Looks like I'm not the only one who hates Brad…" 

A few people at the Hufflepuff table, including Amanda, were rolling on the ground, shrieking their heads off with laughter. "Maybe it was them," Elena suggested.

"ETENTIONDAY, REENWELDGAY!!!!!!!!!!" Professor Bradley shrieked at Elena, not minding the six purple bubbles coming out of her mouth, and then continued on to the people rolling on the ground at the Hufflepuff table. Elena was laughing hysterically while pounding the table and leaning on it for support. People were starting to stare at her, and also at the people from the Hufflepuff table.

"Okay," said the teacher who had translated, yelling over the laughing, and laughing a little herself. "Anderson, Nate!"

A small boy had to be dragged from the line, laughing, to try on the hat. 

"GRYFFINDOR!!!!" the hat yelled a few seconds later, and the boy made his way toward the Gryffindor table. The laughing began to subside a bit, because everyone was running out of breath.

"Andrews, Andrew!" A couple people laughed again at the name. 

"HUFFLEPUFF!!!!"

"Church, Andrew!"

"SLYTHERIN!!!!!!"

The laughing stopped around the D's, except for the Hufflepuffs and Elena, who were still gasping for breath and being taken by random bouts of laughter. They stopped laughing entirely somewhere around the F's. Professor Bradley had left the hall sometime before the laughing stopped, probably because it had gotten her so embarrassed.

"Finn, Fiona!" A girl with short red hair went to try on the hat.

"RAVENCLAW!!!!!" She ran over to the Ravenclaw table, looking happy. Kara gave her a thumbs-up.

The line crawled on to the L's.

"I'm getting hungry…" Kara grumbled.

"Just think about Professor Brad…" Elena said, with a dreamy look on her face. "Purple bubbles coming out of her mouth, saying, 'Etentionday'…Me and those Hufflepuffs could do great things…"

Kara stifled a snort of laughter.

"What, it's true!" Elena said indignantly.

"No, I was just thinking about Professor…Brad," Kara choked out, silently laughing.

"Luane, Diane!"

"Hm…her name rhymes," Kara said idly.

"GRYFFINDOR!!!!!!!!"

Then, to the M's…

"McAlmon, Brian!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!!!!!"

The T's…

"Tiers, Charlotte!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!!!!"

And then, the last girl was, 

"Wilson, Sophie!" Everyone was waiting for the hat to sort her, eager to get the feast.

"RAVENCLAW!!!!!!!" 

The whole hall exploded with cheers, and a few people said, "Now, let's get some food!" Sophie Wilson looked downcast, probably because she just found out that was why they were cheering, and they weren't cheering for her.

Albus Dumbledore stood up. "Dig in." He sat back down.

"Amen!" a person yelled, as the plates filled with food.

Kara piled as much onto her plate as it could hold, and started eating happily. 

And she ate…and she ate…and she ate…

"Kara," Elena asked in disbelief, "are you going to be stopping anytime soon?"

"Nope, I can still get in quite a bit," Kara said mildly, shoveling yet more food into her mouth.

At the Ravenclaw table, Kara, the new first year Sophie Wilson, and Jason, a boy in her year, were the only ones left eating.

Pausing for a second, Kara said to Sophie, "Good job! Keep it up!", chose not to say anything to Jason, and kept eating. They were having a sort of silent contest on who could keep eating the longest.

Soon, almost all of the students in the Great Hall were watching them in awe as they continued eating. A couple of people were even placing bets.

"The first year can't keep it up for long…I'll bet you a Galleon the girl in third wins," someone said. Kara grinned and kept eating.

"Oh, come on, the first year's still going really fast! She's going to win, no contest!" Kara frowned and tried to eat faster. "And a Galleon? What a low-class bet. Bet 10 Galleons or nothing," other person said.

"Fine!" the first person said. And they shook hands on it.

A lot of people were betting on Jason, and Kara was slowly gaining more supporters, from what she heard while eating. Sophie got the odd one here and there, but most people were in denial that a first year could keep it up this long.

"How do you do that?" Andrea said weakly after a few minutes, staring.

"What can I say?" Kara said cheerily, pausing for a second. "I have a bottomless stomach!" 

"Yes, you've shown that," Kira said.

Suddenly, Jason gave up. He slowly slipped off his chair, unable to eat any more.

"The third year boy's out," someone called. "Give me my money!" Similar messages were repeated throughout the hall. Grumbling, a large amount of people were forced to give up their money.

Kara and the first year were still eating--more slowly maybe, but still eating.

In about 10 minutes, they were both sagging in their chairs and trying not to slip off them from being so full, like Jason.

Kara was eating almost mechanically, and she was starting to scare herself, besides. Sophie was looking incredulous that she'd kept it up this long.

Suddenly, Kara thought of something, and thought, _"I wish Sophie Wilson had gotten this idea too, but I think I'll get off okay anyway."_

Then, she stood up and said, "I give up. I want room for desert." Then, she noticed that Sophie Wilson had said it in exact unison! She stared at the girl. 

People stared for a minute, stunned that they'd given up at the exact same time. Then, a few started laughing.

"_YES!!!!!!!!!!!!"_ a voice yelled. "I BET ALL OF YOU THAT THEY WOULD TIE!!!!!!! HAND OVER YOUR MONEY!!!!!!" As people went up to the source of the voice, grumbling, Kara looked over to see who it was. 

It was Professor Dumbledore. Kara sank back into her chair, laughing, and then fell off it, still laughing. It was only by very lucky chance that she didn't crack her head on the floor. Desserts (ice cream, etc…) appeared while she was doing this.

When she'd managed to compose herself and she'd finished her small dessert, she went in search of Sophie. She found the girl signing autographs, with a permanent grin on her face. Kara was immediately surrounded too. She gave a few first and second years her autograph, writing her name with a flourish, and continued to sign various papers while talking to Sophie.

"That was freakin' good!" she said enthusiastically. "I haven't had that much fun in ages!"

"Thanks!" Sophie was about 3 or 4 inches shorter than Kara, being a first year, and had dark red hair that fell to her waist; she'd had it up while eating, but had let it down sometime after. She had light blue eyes, which were a nice contrast with her hair. "You were good too," she said, brushing her bangs out of her eyes as she bent down to sign something.

"Well, if you ever need some help finding your way around or anything, I'm there…most likely lost as well," Kara said, then waved as she left. "See you!"

***

While going up to the Ravenclaw common room, Kara was so tired from eating and everything that she was trying not to fall asleep on the floor…and the rest were just tired. Finally, she got to the fifth floor and the picture of the woman and her horse. 

Yawning, Kara said, "Okay, what's the password, lady? I'm in Ravenclaw." 

"You know I can't tell you that," she said, looking offended.

"Please?"

"How'd you know that?" she asked in a disbelieving way as the picture made a clicking sound.

"That was the password?"

"Yes!"

"…I'm just special that way," Kara said, smiling smugly and pushing the picture aside.

Then, she stumbled up to the 3rd Year girl's dorms and collapsed into a bed. The rest talked for a while, but finally Kara got exasperated, because she wanted to sleep, and shut them up with a Silencing Charm. They all glared at her the rest of the night. She didn't really care though, because she'd fallen asleep almost immediately after.

*************************************************************************************************

A/N: Yay! I'm done with that chapter! That was hard to finish. I got a small case of writer's block in the middle of the chapter. But that's over now. So, if the middle of the chapter's really bad, sorry, I had writer's block.

There is a reason that I put Arena and Sophie in there, but Sophie doesn't even get important until at least next year. But I really liked her, so I decided to introduce her this year. The eating contest was pretty much pointless except to introduce Sophie, and I am sorry for my lack of good writing skills…

Okay, no more to say here, except that I hope my next chapter will take less time, so bye! And if you've happened to stop by and read this….please review! *puppy dog eyes* Flames will be used to set Voldemort's house on fire, so he can run out screaming, "Mommy! Mommy!" We'll all love to see that, won't we? ^_^

~*Hermione2


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